Battle of Raate Road
The Battle of the Raate Road was part of the Russo-Finnish war, more commonly known as the Winter War. It was fought in January 1940 as part of the battle for Suomossalmi. Lead up The lead up to the battle began in the 1930's as the Soviet Union annexed the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Then in 1939 as part of the none aggression pact signed by the Soviet Union and Germany she annexed the eastern half of Poland. Following this Stalin turned his attention on Finland. After talks failed to resolve the issue of the border being so close to Leningrad the USSR and Finland went to war on the 30th of November 1939. During the Preceding months leading to the battle the Fins successfully held off Soviet attacks all along the border while inflicting large casualties on the Soviet forces. In December 1939 however the Soviet 163rd rifle division captured the strategic city of Suomossalmi. The city was located in the middle of the country and from here the Soviets could cut Finland in two. The Fins were able to cut the 163rd off however by the . In response, on the 20th of December, the Soviet high command sent the 44th division, which consisted mainly of Ukrainians, with elements of the 305th and 662nd rifle regiments to relive the trapped men and continue the drive west. The Finnish 9th division where in place to stop them The Battle Most agree that the battle began on the 1st of January however by this time the 163rd rifle division had already been destroyed in Suomossalmi. The battle was a series of defensive battle fought along the road whereby the Finnish forces would use hit and run tactics to split the Soviet column into pockets. The 9th division was split into 4 parts named after their commanding officer and were able to stop the 44th division by the town of Haukila 12 kilometers from Suomossalmi. This is where the majority of the fighting would take place. The decisive battle began on the 5th of January near Haukila at 08:30 and the "Mandelin" and "Mäkiniemi" Squadrons attacked the soviet forces in the area allowing squadron "Mäkiniemi" more time to establish defensive positions. At the same time the NKVD 3rd border guards arrived to assist the 44th division. The next morning the Fins had established strong blocking positions protected by mine fields in the Soviet column. The fighting continued on the 6th as the Finnish forces continued to split the Soviet pockets into smaller and smaller groups. The Soviets attempted to break through Finnish road blocks using tanks however these were repelled with heavy losses. At 21:30 on the 6th the 44th divisions commander, Alexei Vinogradov, ordered his troops to fall back to the Soviet border. Most Soviet soldiers attempted to escape north over the frozen Lake Kiantajärvi. Many froze to death due to improper clothing and without supplies. Other Soviet units had already tried to escape east but were stopped by squadron "Karl". Further to the east squadron "Fagernäs" recaptured a strategic bridge on the 7th. The clear up operation took 2 days and the survivors of the 44th division straddled back across the border in small groups. During the retreat the Soviets were forced to leave behind most of their heavy equipment. The Fins captured a total of: 71 artillery pieces of various calibers 43 tanks 4,822 rifles 29 anti tank guns 260 trucks 20 tractors 2 cars 190 light machine guns 14 anti tank rifles 106 machine guns 10 armored cars and 1170 horses Casualties As with most battles of the Winter War the actual casualty figures are unknown. Most historians agree that its between 7000 and 17000 men. this is based on interrogations of prisoners and the amount of rifles captured by the Fins. Most officers of the Soviet 27th infantry regiment put casualties at 70%. As the weather warmed the Fins quickly buried the dead without counting due to the risk disease epidemic. They were buried in mass graves and marked on maps and by crosses on top of the pits. The fate of the 44th remained omitted from Soviet historiography for decades. Category:Battles Category:1940